Attorney General Becerra Secures Preliminary Injunction against Trump Administration's Suspension of Waste Prevention Rule

Judge Orders Rule to Go into Effect Immediately

SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas, together with the California Air Resources Board, have secured a preliminary injunction in their case against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's suspension of the Waste Prevention Rule. 

The Rule went into effect on January 17, 2017, but was illegally suspended by the Trump Administration on December 8, 2017. The Rule requires oil and natural gas producers to cut wasteful leakage of methane on federal lands. In the lawsuit, Attorneys General Becerra and Balderas underscored that suspending key provisions of the Rule would be arbitrary and capricious and would contradict the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) own findings that the Rule was necessary to prevent waste and ensure the safe and responsible development of oil and gas resources on public lands.

Attorney General Becerra's legal victory in this case marks his eighth environmental win against the Trump Administration.

“Donald Trump threatened the health of our families and our environment with his attempt to suspend a commonsense rule that conserves public resources and protects us from hazardous air pollution,” said Attorney General Becerra. “Today's court order blocking that suspension reminds Trump and his Administration that they are not above the law.”

Last year, the Republican-led U.S. Senate voted against repealing the Waste Prevention Rule, despite President Trump’s desire to kill it.

Since December 2016, California and New Mexico have been defending the Waste Prevention Rule from legal challenges brought in the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming by industry groups and the States of Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, and Texas. On July 5, 2017, Attorneys General Becerra and Balderas filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration for illegally delaying the implementation of the Rule. On October 4, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled in favor of the two state Attorneys General, forcing the Administration to immediately implement the Rule. The next day, BLM published a notice of proposed rulemaking in hopes of suspending this critical environmental measure.

A copy of the court order is attached to the electronic version of this release at www.oag.ca.gov/news.